Cleaning and annealing tank for dental inlays, castings, and the like



B. SPIER CLEANING `AND ANNEALING TANK FOR DENTAL Dec. 18,l 1951A INLAYS, CASTINGS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 24, 1950 me. ma o o y IIIIIIIIIIII 1 f u m@ v M MH n 1 v A n 5 1H n am Patented Dec. 18, A1951 UNITED' STATES PATENT OFFICE CLEANING AND` ANNEALING TANKY FOR DENTAL INLAYS, CASTINGS, AND THE Burton ,pielg New York, N. Y.

Application August 24, 19,50', Serial No. 181,202

The: present invention relates to a tank or receptacle for use in cleaningand annealing'gold or other precious metals, and more particularly toa type of tank r receptacle that may be used advantageously and, effectively in a dental or chemical laboratory for cleaning and annealing gold inlays, castings andthe like. n

InV the practice of dentistry, after av gold or other precious metal inlay or casting has `been prepared, and prior to setting it permanently and. securing it within the patients mouth,l the usual procedure is to heatthe inlay or casting in order to make it more. malleable and to treat the inlay or casting with an acidvthat. will remove and dissolvel anyforeign matter that may have adhered thereto. This is generally accomplished by holding the inlay or casting. with a suitable instrument in the lflame of aBunsen burner. until arequired degree of heat'is attained, then drop-f ping the inlay or casting into a receptacle containing hydrochloric or nitric acid, and after the inlay or casting has been annealed and. cleaned' of all foreign matter by 'the acidl itis withdrawn fromthe receptacle. It is common knowledge that in the course of the said process, the con- 3 claims. (ol. 13A- 143) tact of the heated inlay or casting with the acid will cause noxious acid fumes to be generated, whichwhen emitted into the atmosphere are not only injurious to thehealth of' persons who may breathe the fumes, but are also damaging to metal ttings, fixtures, tools, instruments and otherv metal objects that may come in contact therewith. Normally the acid receptacle is kept tightly covered, but the insertion therein andV the removal therefrom of the inlayA or casting permits the fumes to escape into the atmosphere. To overcome this condition and to prevent the damaging results therefrom I havel provided an acid tank or receptacle ofl improved and; novel design and construction which I believe to bea practical solution to the acid fumes problem.

The principal object of the present invention` is, thereforeto provide an acid tank or receptacle for use in cleaning andv annealing gold inlays and castings and the like, which is designed toprevent acid fumes formed therein from escaping. into the atmosphere. Anotherl object of the 'invern tion is to provide a tank or receptacle v"of the character described and for the purposes mentioned, which is portable and convenient to handle, and is adapted to be used effectively vin a dental or chemical laboratory. A further -object of the invention is to provide a tank `or receptacle of the aforesaid type and: designwhich is simple in construction. and economical-to- 2; .f manufacture. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will in part be pointed; out hereinafter and will otherwise be. apparent to those skilled in the art' to which the present invention relates.

With the above and other objects in view my invention comprises the novel features of con.- structlon and arrangement of parts hereinafter described 'and' illustrated in the accompanying drawinggwherein thev preferred physical embodiment of my invention isshown.

In the accompanying drawing which forms. an integral part of this specification.,

Fig. l is a top-Y plan view, partly in section taken along the line I---Il of Fig. 2, `of anacid tank or receptacle designed and constructed in accordance with the present invention.

j Fig..2 is a side sectional elevationthereof'taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,; and

Fig,V 3 is a fragmentary perspectiveV view'of'r the tray member of the tank or. receptacle.

Referring now in detail to the drawing wherein like reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown a tank or receptacle constructed in accordance with the present invention, the tank or receptacle being made preferably of a suitable heat and acid resisting transparent material; such as the type of glass known as plexiglasf but other materials, suchas metal randl porcelain. mayv equally serve the purpose. The tank or racenh tacle is preferably rectangular in shape and cornprises a bottoml I0, side walls II and I2, end Walls I3 and i4 and a top' I5. The top of theV tankV is provided with openings I6V and I1 therein. and tted snugly within the openings I5 and I1- are the covers. i8l and I9 respectively. Each of the covers I8 and I9 is provided with a knob or handle 26, 2 I, which may be conveniently gripped` with the ngers for removing the cover from and replacing it within its respective opening; The end walls I3 and I4 of thewtank are preferably provided with handles 22 and 23 respectively which may be conveniently gripped for transporting the tank from place to place. r

The interior of the tank is provided with ya diagonally disposed. partition forming -an inclined platform 24 which extends transversely from the side wall II to the side wall I2 4and slopes downwardly from the end wall I3 to the bottom lil of the tank; For reasons hereinafter set forth the slope of the platform. 24, is of such degree that'an object placed thereon will, normally gravitate to the bottomv ofithe incline. Also.- provided, within the interior of the tank is*v the tank and through a slot 28 in the partition- 25. 26 is preferably provided with a head 29 which projects above the top of tank and may be conveniently gripped for raising and lowering the partition, and the lower edge of the partition 26 normally rests on the inclined platform 24;.

The sides of the partition 26 are preferablywedge The upper edge of the moveable -partition-A i shaped so as to frictionally engage the walls of the slots 21 and 28 and to form a tight fit therein. It `will be readily Vobserved that the partition 26 vserves to divide the liquid containing compartment of the tank into vtwo intercommunicating compartments A vand B.A

The cover I9 is provided with a depending member 3U which is connected to a U-shaped tray 3|. When the cover IS is in closed position within the-opening I'I the tray 3l normally -rests on the'bottom the tank adjacent to the lower end of the inclined platform 24; The bottom of the tray 3i is preferably provided with perforations 32 to permit the liquid in the tank'to drain therethrough fwhen the cover I9 is lifted from and'replaced within the opening Il, thereby facilitating the raising and lowering of the tray 3| vwithin the tank.

Contained within the compartments A and B is an acidf33, such as hydrochloric or nitric acid, which is suitable for cleaning and annealing gold or'other precious metal inlays of castings. Sufcient acid is generally contained within the tank to prevent the iiow of air or gases from compartment A to compartment B when the partitionv 26 is raised.

"In using the tank of the present invention for cleaning andrannealing anl inlay or casting, the cover I8 is liftedfrom the opening I5 in the top of the tank, and the'in'lay or casting, which had just previously been heated to a required degree of heat by vholding it in the flame of a Bunsen burner, is dropped into the acid in compartment A, and the cover I8 is immediately replaced over the opening IB. Theinlay or casting will then fall onto the platform 24 and will slide down the incline, but will be retainedvwithin the compartment A by the partition 26. The contact l0f the inlay or casting with the acid will cause acid fumes to be generated within compartment 'A and these will accumulate in the air space in compartment A above the acid 33. After the inlay or casting has been submerged in the acid for an interval and has been cleaned and annealed by the acid, the partition 26 is therrraised by an upward npull on the head 29, and the inlay, or casting is thus permitted to slide down the platform 24 into the compartment B and to fall into the tray- 3I resting in the bottom of the'tank. The cover IS is lthen lifted from the opening I'I in the :topof thetank and the tray. 3| which is connected to the cover I9 is brought tothe top of the tank to permit'the inlay orcasting to be removed therefrom.

It will be observed that when the partition 26is raised, the acid fumes which have accumulatediin the air space above the acid 33 in com'- 4 partment A, are prevented by the acid from passing into the air space above the acid 33 in compartment B. The acid fumes generated in the tank are thus prevented from escaping into the atmosphere when the cover I9 is lifted to remove the inlay or casting from the tray 3I. It has been found that after a lapse of time the "acid fumes in compartment A are absorbed by theacid.l Therefore, since the "process is performed at substantial intervals, the acid fumes which have been formed in compartment A will generally, have been completely absorbed by the acid-before it'becomes necessary to repeat the process, and there will be no fumes remaining in compartment A to escape into the atmosphere when'the cover I8 is again lifted from the open- It is evident from the foregoing description and illustration that my improved acid tank is simple and practical and may be used to great advantage -in a dental or chemical laboratory, for cleaning and annealing gold and 4other precious metal inlays, castings and the like. I desire it to bel understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment thereof-herein described'and illustrated in the drawing, but that variations in the details of construction are contemplated, which will neverthelesscome within the scope of my invention as ,setforth in the appended claims` Having Vthus described and illustrated my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent ist 1. acid tank for use in cleaning and annealing'xjdental inlays, castings and the like, comprisingasubstantially rectangular shaped receptacle including av bottom, side walls, and a top having openings towards opposite ,endsv thereof, removeable', covers for said openings, a tray normally resting on the 'bottom of the tank below one of said openings and connected" to the cover for said opening, an inclined platform extending transversely between the top and bottom of the tank and sloping towardsaid tray, and a vertically disposed partition extending across the tank between said openings and adjoining opposite side walls thereof, said vertically disposed partition normally resting on saidJ inclined platform andbeing moveable upwardly through a slot in thetop of the tank, substantially as described.

` 2. An acid tank for use in cleaning and annealing. dentalV inlays, castings and the'like, cornprisinga. substantially rectangular shaped receptacle including a bottom, side' walls, and a top having`openings towards opposite ends thereof, removeable covers for said openings, a tray normally resting on the bottom of the tank below one of said openings and connected to the cover forA saidppening, an inclined platform extending transversely between the top and bottom of the tank and sloping toward said tray, a diagnally disposed partition below the top of the tank, substantially parallel with said inclined platformand extending across the tank between the openings in they top of the tank and adjoining opposite side walls thereof, and a vertically disposed partition extending across the tank between said openings andadjoining opposite side walls thereof, said vertically disposed partition normally resting on said inclined platform and being moveable upwardly through Ya slot in the top ofA the tank and a slot in said diagonally disposed partition below'the topof the tank, substantially'-asdescribed;

3. An acid tank for use in cleaning and annealing dental inlays, castings and the like, comprising a substantially rectangular shaped receptacle, including a bottom, side walls, and a top having openings towards opposite ends thereof, removeable covers for said openings, a tray having perforations in the bottom thereof normally seated in the bottom of the tank below one 6 moveable partition extending across the tank between said openings and adjoining opposite side walls thereof, the upper edge of said vertically movable partition projecting through a slot in the top of the tank and the lower edge thereof normally resting on said inclined platform, a supply. of acid contained within the tank, and gripping means on the sides of the tank for transporting the tank, substantially as. described.

BURTON SPIER.

No references cited. 

